4 arrested in Avon raid that nets 1,000 pounds of marijuana

Three men and one woman face drug and gun charges following federal, state and local police investigation.

Benjamin Paulin The Enterprise @benpaulin_ENT

STOUGHTON – Four people are facing drug and gun charges after police said they found over 1,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in crates of corn in an Avon warehouse on Tuesday.
Jett Ezedi, Donnelley Ray, Stephan Durrant and Sheena Hamilton were arraigned in Stoughton District Court Wednesday on multiple charges including trafficking marijuana and carrying a firearm without a license.

The four were arrested after an investigation by federal, state and local police, said Peggie Krippendorf, spokeswoman for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office.

State Police detectives executed a search warrant at a warehouse at 254B Bodwell Street inside the Avon industrial park Tuesday.

“Just moments before the search warrant was executed, the troopers noticed a California-registered tractor-trailer unit at the loading dock area at Bodwell Street,” said Norfolk County assistant district attorney Peter Kelly.

Inside the warehouse, police said they found several large boxes on wooden pallets filled with ears of corn.

Over 1,000 pounds of marijuana was found concealed in the boxes of corn, Kelly said.

Also found in the warehouse were two loaded handguns, Kelly said.

As police entered the building, Ezedi, who has a warrant out of Rhode Island for a firearm violation, attempted to run out the back door of the warehouse and was arrested, Kelly said.

Durrant and Hamilton were also arrested inside the warehouse and Ray was arrested while going to his car outside the building during the raid.

Defense attorneys for the four argued that there were sparse details of the police investigation in the arrest report.

“All we can see is that the police raided a building and these people were there,” said Donnelley Ray’s attorney Martin Leppo.

Kelly asked that judge Edmund Mathers order all four be held on $100,000 bail.

Mathers instead ordered Durrant and Ezedi held on $25,000 bail, Ray held on $10,000 and Hamilton held on $7,500.

All four are due back in court for a probable-cause hearing Sept. 2.

Ezedi, 31, of Hyde Park, was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, trafficking marijuana and being a fugitive from justice on a court warrant.

Durrant, 19, of Dorchester; Hamilton, 32, of Boston; and Ray, 31, of Roslindale were all charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID, trafficking marijuana and conspiracy to violate a drug law.